Speaking at the 35th Plenary Assembly of the Business Council of Latin America (CEAL) in Asunción, Paraguayan President Santiago Peña highlighted Paraguay’s competitive advantages which are attractive to big tech companies, and stressed that one objective of his Government is for Paraguay to be seen as a safe place to house large investments in technology.
“In this technological race that is being given over who is going to be the leader in the computer centers for artificial intelligence. This race is defined by the availability of clean and renewable energy at competitive prices. Paraguay has these conditions to aspire to be that center,” he said at the event on Monday.
He mentioned that these conditions led the president and his ministers to visit the world’s leading technology companies, to help convince them that they can see Paraguay as a safe place in the world to host large investments.
The president also referred to the projects to take advantage of the potential of the hydroway, increasing its transport capacity, and the Biocean Road Corridor. The latter is part of a project of energy integration through the transport of gas along this route from Argentina to Brazil.
Other sectors with large investments in technology
The Ministers of Industry and Trade (MIC), Javier Giménez, and Minister of Economy and Finance (MEF), Carlos Fernández, also participated in the talks. Minister Giménez highlighted the projects of large investments such as the Paracel cellulose plant, the investments planned in the hydroway and finally cited the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector, which he sees as having great potential for the country.
Fernández pointed out that this development must take place by private sector, in a relationship where the public sector must give predictability in its policies.
President Peña reiterated that Paraguay has all the conditions to be a prosperous country and this process of attracting investments in technology and other sectors must be accompanied by an improvement in health, education, security and social protection systems.
Their growth vision is one of stable long-term rates, rather than accelerated growths by populist recipes that then generate periods of recession, he said. “In this choice between growing suddenly or growing steadily, we look at the example of Taiwan, a small country compared to its neighbors but efficient in production,” he said.
Paraguay is already learning from Taiwan, which has itself shown the huge benefits of investments in technology, and helping some of the brightest and smartest young Paraguayans learn from Taiwan’s extensive technology expertise, through the University Polytechnic Taiwan Paraguay, which is equipping hundreds of young Paraguayans with degrees in fields such as Computer Science and Electromechanical Engineering.
